Particulate loaders are well known, and as described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,431,537, are used by farmers and others to load and transfer grain and other particulates in a convenient manner. These devices include a suction mechanism such as, for example, one or more blowers, to create suction within an air-particulates separating chamber. A vacuum pickup hose is attached to the air-particulates separating chamber to transport grain or other materials from a first location into the air-particulates separating chamber. A conveying mechanism such as, for example, an auger, is positioned in the bottom of the air-particulates separating chamber for transferring the grain or other particulate material from the air-particulates separating chamber to a second location such as, for example an open truck, container.
State of the art particulate loaders have a separating drum of a generally perforated nature disposed within the air-particulates separating chamber for separating the particulates from the air. Typically, the drum is affixed to a fore-and-aft extending shaft about whose axis the drum is rotated during operation. Air drawn through the air-particulates separating chamber passes through the separating drum through small perforations therein, the separating drum's small perforations thereby separating the particulates from the air, leaving the particulate in the air-particulates separating chamber while the air which has passed through the perforations into the separating drum is exhausted through the suction mechanism of the particulate loader.
Unfortunately, a large suction mechanism is required for producing a sufficiently low suction (vacuum) pressure in the air-particulates separating chamber to cause a sufficient air velocity in the vacuum pickup hose to entrain the particulate in the air stream for conveyance. Furthermore, the subsequent high velocity of the air stream entering the air-particulates separating chamber substantially reduces the efficiency of the separation process.
It may be desirable to provide an inlet conduit that reduces the velocity of the air stream with the particulates entering the air-particulates separating chamber.
It also may be desirable to provide an inlet conduit that increases the velocity of the airstream with the particulates through the vacuum pickup hose while a suction pressure provided by the suction mechanism is substantially the same.
It also may be desirable to provide an inlet conduit that has the above desirable characteristics, is simple, and is implementable absent substantial changes to an existing particulate loader design.